In a vehicle air conditioning apparatus, two heat exchangers such as an evaporator and a heater core are generally arranged in a substantially V-shape downstream of a blower unit. The air conditioning apparatus having this arrangement is for example disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-8-268040.
In a case that this kind of air conditioning apparatus is installed in a center console between front seats or an interior side trim space of a vehicle, it will be arranged such that an axis of a blower fan extends in a left and right direction of a vehicle and air is discharged from the blower unit in a substantially front and rear direction of the vehicle. Also, the evaporator and the heater core will be arranged to form the V-shape between them when viewed from the top.
In general, it is preferable to arrange the evaporator and the heater core such that the air is substantially perpendicularly introduced in the evaporator and the heater core. In the console or the side trim, however, a space for installing the air conditioning apparatus is limited, especially, in the left and right direction. Therefore, it is difficult to maintain an inside angle of the V-shape between the heater core and the evaporator.
If the inside angle is reduced, it is required to increase air passage spaces downstream of the heater core and the evaporator to reduce air flow resistance downstream of the heater core and the evaporator. However, this causes an increase in size of the air conditioning apparatus.